Comstock Metals Receives Notification of Eligibility For Final Permit

Rhea-AI Summary

Comstock (NYSE: LODE) received notification of eligibility for an Air Quality Permit from Nevada Division of Environmental Protection – Bureau of Air Pollution Control, subject to normal compliance conditions and public notice periods, for its industry-scale solar panel recycling facility in Silver Springs, NV.

The company previously received eligibility for a Written Determination Permit from NDEP – Bureau of Sustainable Materials Management. Once final, the two permits complete required regulatory approvals to commission a facility designed to process over 3 million panels per year (up to 100,000 tons annually). Equipment has been ordered and deliveries are expected by year-end to enable installation, testing, and commissioning in Q1 2026.

Positive

• Permits eligible for Air Quality and BSMM approvals
• Facility capacity: 3 million panels/year
• Processing scale: up to 100,000 tons/year
• Equipment ordered with deliveries expected by year-end
• Target commissioning in Q1 2026

Negative

• Permits are not yet final and subject to conditions
• Approvals include public notice periods that could delay timing

Insights

Environmental Permitting and Operations Analyst

Permit eligibility advances commissioning of a large-scale solar-panel recycling plant; operational and timeline risks remain.

Receiving eligibility for the NDEP-BAPC Air Quality Permit and the NDEP-BSMM Written Determination completes the major regulatory hurdle needed to commission the Silver Springs facility designed to process over 3 million panels per year and up to 100,000 tons of waste annually. The business mechanism is straightforward: final permits allow equipment installation, testing, and ramping to continuous production from a single line, enabling revenue‑generating operations and material recovery at industrial scale.

Key dependencies include satisfying the normal compliance conditions and public notice periods before permits become final, timely delivery and installation of ordered equipment, and successful commissioning during Q1 2026. Risks are procedural or timing delays in permit finalization, construction slippage, or technical issues during commissioning; none of these are specified as resolved in the release.

Watch for the final permit issuance after public notices and any permit conditions that could change operating limits or timelines, receipt and on‑site installation of ordered equipment by year end, and commissioning updates in Q1 2026. These milestones over the next two quarters will determine whether the project meets its stated schedule.

Air Quality Permit For Its First-Of-A-Kind, Industrial Scale Solar Panel Processing Facility

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev., Nov. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” and the “Company”) and Comstock Metals LLC (“Comstock Metals”), a leader in the responsible recycling of end-of-life solar panels with the only certified, north American, zero-landfill solution, announced today that it has received its notification of eligibility for an Air Quality Permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection – Bureau of Air Pollution Control (NDEP-BAPC), subject to certain normal compliance conditions and public notice periods, for the processing of waste solar panels and photovoltaics for its industry-scale materials recovery facility located in Silver Springs, NV. This timely approval keeps our scale-up plans for commissioning our first industry-scale facility in Silver Springs, NV, right on schedule.

This notification follows the recently received notification of eligibility for a Written Determination Permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection – Bureau of Sustainable Materials Management (NDEP-BSMM), also with the normal conditions and public notice period. These two major permits, once final, represent the complete scope of required regulatory approvals for commissioning the scale up of a facility designed for processing over 3 million panels per year from one, continuous production line, representing up to 100,000 tons per year of waste materials being processed. This facility integrates technologies for efficiently processing, conditioning, extracting, and recycling metal concentrates from photovoltaics. The Company previously reported that the equipment for the plant was ordered, and fabrication is also proceeding as planned with deliveries expected by year end, so that it can commence installation, testing, and commissioning of the industry-scale facility during the first quarter of 2026. The process for both Air and BSMM permits proceeded essentially as planned, since last Spring, when the final forms for both of these permits were submitted.

“We appreciate BAPC’s collaborative efforts in issuing this first major solar panel recycling Air Quality Permit and enabling the expansion of the only Nevada-based, zero-landfill, end-of-life solar panel solution serving this broad region and keeping these critical materials out of our landfills or from being sent offshore to foreign foundries, basically offshoring the problem,” said Dr. Fortunato Villamagna, President of Comstock Metals. “We are thankful for the strong working collaboration with our regulators and the remarkable support that we are experiencing from the broader community who increasingly understands and appreciates the critical societal value of preventing heavy metal contamination of our lands, water systems and communities.”

Most of the older U.S. solar panels in service have been deployed in the southwestern U.S., primarily California, Arizona, and Nevada, with decommissioning of these solar panels occurring now, accelerating supply and increasing the demand for environmentally responsible end-of-life solutions, negating potential legacy liability faced by our customers should the panels not be 100% recycled. Comstock has positioned itself to ensure the safe deconstruction and productive reuse of these important materials. Establishing our platform in Nevada establishes the leading solar recycling position over more than half the U.S. market for end-of-life panels and establishes a platform for rapid expansion across the rest of the United States.

“We have established both a technological and market leadership position in this rapidly growing end-of-life photovoltaic supply chain,” stated Corrado De Gasperis, Comstock’s Executive Chairman and CEO. “Our metals team is already carefully and strategically assessing additional processing and storage sites as we look to capitalize and expand our platform in this rapidly growing end-of-life environmental dilemma. Comstock Metals is the only zero-landfill, end-of-life solution for these wasted solar panels. We are setting the standard for this entire industry and positioning ourselves for rapid expansions.”

About Comstock Inc.

Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) innovates and commercializes technologies, systems and supply chains that enable, support and sustain clean energy systems by efficiently, effectively, and expediently extracting and converting under-utilized natural resources into reusable metals, like silver, aluminum, gold, and other critical minerals, primarily from end-of-life photovoltaics. To learn more, please visit www.comstock.inc.

Comstock Social Media Policy

Comstock Inc. has used, and intends to continue using, its investor relations link and main website at www.comstock.inc in addition to its X.com, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts, as means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Contacts

For investor inquiries:
Judd B. Merrill, Chief Financial Officer
Tel (775) 413-6222
ir@comstockinc.com

For media inquiries:
Zach Spencer, Director of External Relations
Tel (775) 847-7573
media@comstockinc.com

Forward-Looking Statements 

This press release and any related calls or discussions may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “potential” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of doing so. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters such as: future market conditions; future explorations or acquisitions; divestitures, spin-offs or similar distribution transactions, future changes in our research, development and exploration activities; future financial, natural, and social gains; future prices and sales of, and demand for, our products and services; land entitlements and uses; permits; production capacity and operations; operating and overhead costs; future capital expenditures and their impact on us; operational and management changes (including changes in the Board of Directors); changes in business strategies, planning and tactics; future employment and contributions of personnel, including consultants; future land and asset sales; investments, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs or similar distribution transactions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, operational, tax, financial and restructuring initiatives, including the nature, timing and accounting for restructuring charges, derivative assets and liabilities and the impact thereof; contingencies; litigation, administrative or arbitration proceedings; environmental compliance and changes in the regulatory environment; offerings, limitations on sales or offering of equity or debt securities, including asset sales and associated costs; business opportunities, growth rates, future working capital, needs, revenues, variable costs, throughput rates, operating expenses, debt levels, cash flows, margins, taxes and earnings. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical and current trends, current conditions, possible future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, representations or warranties and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our control and could cause actual results, developments, and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Some of those risks and uncertainties include the risk factors set forth in our filings with the SEC and the following: adverse effects of climate changes or natural disasters; adverse effects of global or regional pandemic disease spread or other crises; global economic and capital market uncertainties; the speculative nature of gold or mineral exploration, and lithium, nickel and cobalt recycling, including risks of diminishing quantities or grades of qualified resources; operational or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, metal recycling, processing or mining activities; costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with precious and other metal based activities, including environmentally friendly and economically enhancing clean mining and processing technologies, precious metal exploration, resource development, economic feasibility assessment and cash generating mineral production; costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with metal recycling, processing or mining activities; contests over our title to properties; potential dilution to our stockholders from our stock issuances, recapitalization and balance sheet restructuring activities; potential inability to comply with applicable government regulations or law; adoption of or changes in legislation or regulations adversely affecting our businesses; permitting constraints or delays; challenges to, or potential inability to, achieve the benefits of business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, us, including those involving battery technology and efficacy, quantum computing and generative artificial intelligence supported advanced materials development, development of cellulosic technology in bio-fuels and related material production; commercialization of cellulosic technology in bio-fuels and generative artificial intelligence development services; ability to successfully identify, finance, complete and integrate acquisitions, spin-offs or similar distribution transactions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, asset sales, and investments that we may be party to in the future; changes in the United States or other monetary or fiscal policies or regulations; interruptions in our production capabilities due to capital constraints; equipment failures; fluctuation of prices for gold or certain other commodities (such as silver, zinc, lithium, nickel, cobalt, cyanide, water, diesel, gasoline and alternative fuels and electricity); changes in generally accepted accounting principles; adverse effects of war, mass shooting, terrorism and geopolitical events; potential inability to implement our business strategies; potential inability to grow revenues; potential inability to attract and retain key personnel; interruptions in delivery of critical supplies, equipment and raw materials due to credit or other limitations imposed by vendors; assertion of claims, lawsuits and proceedings against us; potential inability to satisfy debt and lease obligations; potential inability to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting; potential inability or failure to timely file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission; potential inability to list our securities on any securities exchange or market or maintain the listing of our securities; and work stoppages or other labor difficulties. Occurrence of such events or circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, or the market price of our securities. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Except as may be required by securities or other law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither this press release nor any related calls or discussions constitutes an offer to sell, the solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation with respect to any securities of the Company, the fund, or any other issuer.

FAQ

What did Comstock (LODE) announce on November 24, 2025 about permits for its Silver Springs facility?

Comstock announced notification of eligibility for an Air Quality Permit, following a prior Written Determination Permit eligibility, both subject to normal conditions and public notice periods.

How many solar panels per year will Comstock's Silver Springs plant (LODE) be designed to process?

The facility is designed to process over 3 million panels per year (up to 100,000 tons of waste annually).

When does Comstock (LODE) expect to begin commissioning the industry-scale recycling facility?

Comstock expects to commence installation, testing, and commissioning in Q1 2026, with equipment deliveries expected by year-end.

Are Comstock's (LODE) Air Quality and BSMM permits final and unconditional?

No; both permits are currently notifications of eligibility and remain subject to compliance conditions and public notice periods before final approval.

What operational advantage does Comstock (LODE) claim from its Silver Springs facility?

Comstock positions the plant as a zero-landfill end-of-life solar panel recycling solution serving a large portion of the U.S. market.